For some reason, freshmen seem to be terribly informed about everything the University of Louisville has to offer. There is so much that freshmen, not just at University of Louisville, but at universities everywhere, seem to do wrong!
It is hard to leave stuff behind! But you likely will not wear every single piece of clothing you own in a 9-month period. I good rule of thumb: if you have not worn or used it in the last 3 months, you probably don’t need to take it.
Freshmen tend to skip classes more than upperclassmen as the new batch of freedoms gets to their head, causing them to believe they can skip class without penalty (sometimes). However, it is best to go to class because you could miss a pop quiz (usually given to test attendances) or a hint about the next exam. It is not worth it to skip class. Just don’t do it.
This is a big one. While the University of Louisville campus food may not be the best, it is the cheaper option. Eating off campus can get expensive fast. It is better to use the meal plan on campus. There are restaurants in the SAC that are not too much like fast food, like Olilo, Prime Grill, Sushi, and the Exchange.
Freshmen is the common breed at parties because college holds a stigma of having the wildest parties every night. Unfortunately, that’s only sometimes the case at University of LouisvilleF. Partying is okay in regulation but partying hard every Friday and Saturday is probably not great for your grades (or your liver).
College is very different from high school when it comes to the demands of studying. Freshmen have this sort of trend where they do really bad their first semester and from there, radically improve. This is because they don’t study as much as they should, if at all, for their classes and don’t pass exams due to this. It is so important to study and all of your professors will tell you that you will not pass their class if you do not study.
People are gross and therefore rooms get equally as gross. Living with a roommate makes it double the gross. No thanks. A good rhythm to go by is while you are washing your laundry, clean your room. Do the floors, wipe down your desk, fridge and dresser, wipe the inside of the microwave, take out the trash, and tidy your desk. It will take maybe an hour and laundry goes for an hour and a half. It is also so mentally beneficial to have a clean room because it helps you to de-stress and makes you feel much better about yourself if you’re having a down day!
Gray’s Bookstore is so much better than the Campus Bookstore because it is cheaper, you get points if you join their free rewards program, and a 10% military discount if you hold a military ID. They have all their books organized by class and section and, if they don’t have your book, they can order and reserve it for you within 3-5 business days!
Don’t exclude yourself from meeting new people just because you have your one person that you are comfortable with and you think they are all you need. If you and that person get on each other’s nerves so much that you can’t stand each other anymore, you need someone else to fall back on that will be there for you. College is supposed to be a place where you can meet new people and step out of your comfort zone, which you definitely can do at the University of Louisville!
College is supposed to be about finding your crowd and finding your true self! How are you going to manage to do that if you are sitting alone in your dorm watching cat videos and eating Ramen noodles all day? You can’t! The University of Louisville has so many clubs to join and if by some strange chance you can’t find the right club for you, you can make your own!
Now, while it is important to join clubs, it is equally important not to join every club you can because you will be enlisting far too much commitment to other organizations while leaving no time for the important things (like, oh I don’t know…studying?). Meeting times may overlap, event times may overlap, class time and meeting times may overlap, and that’s something you really don’t want. Another important point is don’t skip class for the sake of another University of Louisville organized event. There will be more and it is not worth it to skip a full day of class just because all your friends are going to get free food.
This is a biggie. It is so, so important to stay healthy in college because it is one of the most impactful times of your life. It can cause stress, sleepiness, and a decrease in time management. But, in spite of this, it is super important to eat right and work out. Even if it is just 2 times a week, go to the gym for 30 minutes and walk the elliptical. Go for a salad or fruit instead of pizza at the Ville Grill. I know it is hard to manage, especially with the dorm-cook-able only foods, but you should try. Having an unhealthy diet can lead to an array of health issues, so put aside an hour or two a week for the gym instead of putting aside days at a time at a doctor’s office.
Welcome week is great! I love, love, loved Welcome Week at the University of Louisville! There are so many chances for you to explore your major and other majors and meet new people and get to know the members of lots of different programs around campus! RaiseRED, ESLB, SOAR, and tons of other programs want you to pay attention to them and join their organization! There are also lots of freebies at this time, so it is definitely worth it just to walk around some at of the events.
While it is important to study and take academics seriously, don’t burden yourself with study time. It is not healthy to sit at the library all day doing nothing but studying. It is not healthy to deprive yourself of things that you enjoy doing or of a social life. And besides, if you are studying 24/7, you likely will not do as well as you hoped because after a while, your brain checks out and says, “Yeah, ok, goodnight. I’ve had enough.” Don’t do that to yourself.
On the other hand, don’t not study. A good formula to go by: for every credit hour, you should study about 3 hours for that class per week. So, if you are taking 14 credit hours, you should study a total of around 42 hours per week, give or take. That’s less than two days out of your seven-day week. You still have plenty of time for friends, parties, and whatever else you like to do. College is hard enough. Don’t make it harder by not putting in the time and effort to pass.
The Campus Counseling Center is great for anyone and everyone at University of Louisville. You don’t have to have a mental disorder to go to a therapist. You don’t even have to set up consecutive appointments; you can just go whenever you feel stressed, out of control, or just don’t know what to do about something. By the way, it’s free for University of Louisville students and you can walk there from campus.
Sleep is super important. You cannot function properly without sleep. If you want to go to sleep at 8:30, go to sleep at 8:30. If you want to go to sleep at 2:00 in the morning, sleep in till 10 (but don’t sleep through a class). Don’t ignore the signs your body is sending telling you that you need to sleep. Listen to them because, while I know the library is open until 3:00 am and your dorm never closes, you will do better on the exam tomorrow if you got a full nights rest that you would if you stayed up all night. But don’t sleep too much because too much sleep can be just as harmful as not enough sleep. Try to get between 6-9 hours of sleep every night and a method I like to use is power-napping. I chug an energy drink and take a 20 minute nap and by the time I’m awake I feel like I could run 6 marathons.
Colleges are a breeding ground for germs and nastiness. PLEASE go see the doctor to find out if your cough is contagious or not. Even if you feel so awful you can’t bear to get out of bed, try to muster up enough energy to see the doctor by the baseball stadium. They can tell you whether or not you can suck it up and go to class or if you really are too sick to manage classes. The best thing you can do is rest and drink lots of water. Stress is not good for sick people and it is probably best if you didn’t stress out over not going to class. Try to get some medical advice from your doctor. It will be so much better to be sick for 3 days and not go to class instead of being sick for 2 weeks and going to every single class.
Let me be the first to tell you that getting a job right into college is awful. Unless you are with the UPS Metro college program, I highly recommend you avoid getting a job your first semester and try to push it off until your second semester. Unless there is an opportunity that you just can’t pass up, by all means, apply. But if you can, try to set your first day of work later into the semester when you have adapted into the college life. It is hard enough trying to juggle classes, time to sleep and time to feed yourself. Don’t make it any worse by trying to mix up a job in your mess of a schedule.
The Bursar’s Office is super understanding of the variety of different financial situations students may be in and have a program where you can set up a payment plan with them so that you don’t have to spend every single penny you have in one transaction. If you have any fears that you won’t be able to pay your tuition on time, talk to the Office of the Bursar and they will be more than willing to help you set up a payment plan or a system that works for you.
I will say it again and one-hundred more times: college is hard! It has become a fact of life that has been drilled into our minds since the first day of high school. It really does take some getting used to, so don’t drop out after your first semester. Give it just a little longer. I had a really hard time getting used to being without my cat for the first semester, but after going home over winter break, I felt so much better about coming back.
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